The Dorrance Domain

by Carolyn Wells

  CHAPTER XXI

  UPS AND DOWNS

  The days that followed were crammed full of both business and pleasure.Dorothy rose each morning, buoyant with eager hope that all would gowell, and went to bed each night, rejoicing in the fact that in the mainit had done so.

  There was plenty of work to do; but it was cheerfully done, and manyhands made it light, and comparatively easy. There were many smallworries and anxieties, but they were overcome by perseverance anddetermination.

  The Dorrance pride was inherent in all four children, and having settheir hand to the plough, not only were they unwilling to turn back, butthey were determined to make the best possible furrow. Although Dorothywas at the helm, and all important matters were referred to her, yet theothers had their appointed tasks and did them each day, promptly andwell.

  Now that the Domain had assumed more of the character of a hotel, theDorrances saw less of their boarders, socially. Also the largedining-room was used, and the guests seated in families at varioustables. This gave a far more hotel-like air to the house, and thoughperhaps not quite as pleasant, it seemed to Dorothy the right thing todo.

  The Faulkners were ideal boarders; the Van Arsdales, though moreexacting, were just and considerate; but the Blacks, as Leicesterexpressed it, were a caution.

  Mrs. Black was a continual and never-pausing fusser. Mr. Black remainedtwo days to get them settled, and then returned to the city. Immediatelyafter his departure, Mrs. Black insisted on changing her room.

  "I didn't want to bother my husband about it," she said to Dorothy, "forhe thinks I'm so fickle-minded; but truly, it isn't that. You see, thesun gets around to this room at just half-past three, and that's thetime I'm always taking my nap, and so of course it wakes me up. Now yousee, I can't stand that,--when I came up here for rest and recuperation.And so, my dear Miss Dorrance, if you don't mind, I'll just take someother room. I'm sure you have plenty of them, and if that big, strongMr. Hickox will help move my things, I'm sure it will be no trouble atall. Perhaps your sister Fairy will look after the children a littlebit, while Celestine and Lisa assist me. The baby is asleep, and perhapsshe won't waken, but if she does, would Miss Lilian mind holding her forjust a little while? or she might take her out in her baby-carriage fora bit of a ride. I'm sorry to be troublesome, but you see for yourself,I really can't help it."

  If Mrs. Black really _was_ sorry to be troublesome, she must have beensorry most of the time. For she was everlastingly making changes of somesort, or desiring attention from somebody, and she quite imposed on thegood nature of the younger Dorrances, by begging them to take care ofher children upon all too frequent occasions. Once, even Leicester wassurprised to find himself wheeling Montmorency up and down the veranda,while Mrs. Black finished a letter to go in the mail.

  The Van Arsdale ladies also were under the calm, but imperious sway oftheir fragile-looking niece. It was nothing unusual to see Miss Marciaand Miss Amanda each holding one of the fretful children, and makingfrantic endeavors to amuse their young relatives. The nurses werecompetent, but Mrs. Black so often had errands for them that their youngcharges were frequently in the care of other people.

  Dorothy talked this matter over with Mrs. Faulkner, and as usual waswisely counseled by that lady. She advised, that in so far as Lilian andFairy wished to play with the Black children, they should do so; but inno way were they under obligation to assist Mrs. Black in the care ofher little ones. And, if she requested this at times when the girls hadduties to perform, or indeed at a time when they wished to take theirrecreation, Mrs. Faulkner said they were perfectly justified in askingMrs. Black to excuse them.

  Dorothy told this to her sisters, who were thereby much relieved; forthough fond of the children, they did not, as Lilian said, wish to bepushing around those Black babies in perambulators from morning tillnight. But somehow the babies caused a great deal of commotion, andDorothy began to understand why boarding-house keepers preferred grownpeople.

  One day as the Dorrance girls sat on the veranda, Celestine came runningto them, wringing her hands, after her French method of showing greatdismay, and exclaiming:

  "Mees Sylvie,--she have fallen into ze lake!"

  "What!" exclaimed the three girls at once, jumping up, and runningtowards the lake; "where did she fall in? How did it happen?"

  "Non, non,--not zat way! zis a-way," and Celestine started down a paththat did not lead towards the lake. "I have pull her out; she is notdrown,--but she is,--oh, so ver' soil,--so, vat you say,--muddy, oh, somuch muddy!"

  "Never mind the mud if the child isn't drowned," cried Lilian; "butthis is not the way to the lake. You said she fell in the lake."

  "Not ze gran' lake, mees, but ze small lake,--ze ver' small, p'titlake."

  "Oh, she means nothing but a mud-puddle!" cried Fairy, who had run aheadof the rest, and found Sylvia lying on the grass, chuckling withlaughter, while her pretty clothes were a mass of mud and wet.

  "I falled in!" she cried, gleefully; "I failed in all myself, whenC'lestine wasn't looking. Ain't I a funny dirl?"

  "No, I don't think it's funny," began Dorothy, and then she paused,realizing that it was not her duty to reprimand Mrs. Black's children,and, too, Sylvia certainly did look funny. Not only her white dress, buther face and hands, and her dainty white slippers and stockings werebespattered with brown mud, and Lilian said that she looked like achocolate eclair.

  Another day, Celestine approached Dorothy with the pleasing news that,"Master Montmorency, he must have upsetted the blanc-mange."

  Dorothy flew to verify this statement, and found that the son of thehouse of Black had indeed overturned a large dish of Bavarian cream,which Kathleen had made for that evening's dessert. It had been set outon the back porch to cool, and though protected by a wire screen cover,the enterprising youth had succeeded in wrecking the whole affair.

  Dorothy's record for good-nature was seriously menaced by thismischievous prank, and she would probably have told Mrs. Black herhonest opinion of the transgressing infant; but Kathleen's view of thecase disarmed her.

  "Whisht, now, darlint," said the big peace-maker, "niver you mind. I'llwhishk up another bowl full in a minute, shure. The shpalpeen didn'tmane anny harrum. Troth, he's nothin' but a baby. Wasn't ye wan yersilfwanst? Go 'long wid ye, now, and lave me to me wurruk."

  This Dorothy was glad enough to do, and she walked away, feeling thatKathleen had taught her a lesson in making allowance for theunconsciousness of a child's wrongdoing.

  When she reached the west veranda she found the whole family and allthe guests gathered there in a great state of excitement.

  Following Lilian's pointing finger with her eyes, she saw Mary, theparrot, perched calmly on a high limb of an evergreen-tree.

  "How did she get out?" cried Dorothy, aghast.

  "Sylvia opened the cage door," answered Lilian, "when no one waslooking,--and Mary just walked out. You should have seen her climbingthat tree. She went up branch by branch."

  The parrot looked triumphantly down at the crowd, and remarked, "Mary ishigh up; Mary is very high up."

  "Come down, Mary," said Dorothy, beseechingly; "come down, Mary,--prettyMary,--come down to Dorothy."

  "Hurrah for Dorothy!" cried the parrot,--"hurrah for Sylvia! hurrah forthe Dorrance Domain!"

  This last cheer had been taught to Mary by Leicester, after many longand patient lessons, and never before had Mary spoken it so plainly anddistinctly.

  By this time the Van Arsdale ladies were in tears; Fairy, too, wasweeping, for she felt sure Mary would fly away and never come back. TheBlack children required very little encouragement to start theirlachrymal glands, and seeing the others' tears, immediately began tohowl in various keys.

  "Don't cry, don't cry!" said Mary, from her high perch.

  "Come down, Mary," said Dorothy, coaxingly, and showing an apple and acracker which she had procured; "come down and get your dinner."

  But no urgings would induce the bird to come down. She cocked her eyew
ickedly, and hurrahed for everybody in turn, but utterly refused todescend.

  "Ach, donnerblitzen!" exclaimed German Lisa. "Denn du bist ein dumkopf!Kommst du jetz hinein!"

  "Ciel! what a bird it is!" wailed Celestine, wringing her hands; "ah,Marie, belle Marie, come down, cherie!"

  But the French coaxing, and the German scolding had no more effect onMary than the weeping of the Van Arsdale ladies and the screaming ofthe children. She fluttered her wings, and seemed about to depart. Thenshe would look at them again, and with her exasperating winks, wouldhurrah enthusiastically.

  "If she'll only stay there long enough, perhaps I can lasso her," saidLeicester, running in the house for a string.

  "No," said Mr. Faulkner, who followed him in, "I'm afraid that wouldfrighten her; but if you had a butterfly net, with a very long handle,we might catch her with that."

  "Just the thing," said Leicester; "and there is one in the storeroom; Iremember seeing it there."

  He brought it, but the handle was not long enough; so Mr. Faulknerproposed that they try placing a ladder against another tree near by,and then from the top of that, endeavor to reach the bird with a net.

  Mary watched the proceedings with great interest. "Catch Mary!" shecried; "catch pretty Mary!"

  "You bet we will!" cried Leicester, and when the ladder was adjusted heclimbed to the top of it, carrying the long-handled net with him.

  They all thought the bird would be frightened at the net and fly away,or at least attempt to do so.

  But she seemed to think it a game in which she played an important part,and she sat quietly on the branch, occasionally remarking, "Catch Mary,pretty Mary!"

  With a sure aim, Leicester pushed the net towards the bird and broughtit down over her head, then with a dextrous twist, he turned it upsidedown, with the bird in it, and lowered it carefully to Mr. Faulkner, whowas standing below. At this unexpected indignity, Mary set up aferocious squawking, the Black children redoubled their yells, and theDorrance children cheered with delight.

  Mary was taken from the net, unharmed, and restored to her happymistress, who determined to send to town at once for a padlock for thecage door.

  But though commotions such as these were of frequent, almost dailyoccurrence; yet when they were not such as to interfere with theroutine of her household management, Dorothy did not allow them to worryher.

  Although usually busy all the morning, she found many spare hours forrest and recreation in the afternoon; and the evenings were alwaysdelightful. The Black children were then safely in bed, and could makeno trouble. The Dorrances were at liberty to be by themselves, or withtheir boarders, as they wished.

  As Mr. Faulkner played the guitar, and Leicester could pick a little onthe mandolin, and as they all could sing,--or fancied they could,--therewere often very jolly concerts on the veranda, or, on moonlightevenings, out in the boat.

  Mr. Black came up every week, and when he discovered the array ofmusical talent already there, he brought his banjo, and added greatly tothe fun. Sometimes on rainy evenings, they would all congregate in thegreat empty ballroom, and play merry games. On such occasions, theBlacks and Faulkners seemed almost as young, and nearly as noisy as theDorrances.

  One day Leicester came to Dorothy, with a letter.

  "Jack Harris has just written me," he said, "and he wants to come uphere and board for a month; what do you think?"

  "Let him come, by all means," said Dorothy, heartily; "he won't be a bitof extra trouble, and if he will pay our regular rates I shall be gladto have him. The Dorrance Domain is now a fully established summerhotel; and we are prepared to receive all who apply."